Shortis and Simpson's curtain call at Teatro Vivaldi

The imminent closure of Canberra cabaret venue and restaurant Teatro Vivaldi at the ANU Arts Centre after 14 years has saddened many people. Along with The Gods Cafe, the theatre, the Drama Lab and the rest of the ANU Arts Centre, Teatro Vivaldi will be demolished to make way for redevelopment at the university. But it's hit Patrick Troy harder than most. The octogenarian emeritus professor had been going to the venue for a decade or so under its previous owners and has continued to have lunch there every day since it was taken over by Mark Santos and his partner, ANU chemistry professor Anthony Hill. Troy always has the same dish: grilled fish, roast potatoes and green beans. It's on the menu, named after him.

"I'm devastated," Troy says.

For the venue's final performance season, Teatro Vivaldi's most frequent performers, John Shortis and Moya Simpson, will be joined by former Canberra Times artist of the year Peter J. Casey, returning from his current home in Wagga Wagga. They will present a selection of favourite numbers from previous concerts over the past 10 years, some Noel Coward songs in tribute to the owners, who previously ran a bed and breakfast in Coward's old house in London, and a few newly written numbers to mark the occasion.

Shortis says Teatro Vivaldi became "a spiritual home" for himself and Simpson after the closure in 2000 of Bill Stephens' School of Arts Cafe in Queanbeyan.

"Mark reckoned we've done 32 shows," he says.

Santos says when he and Hill bought the place in 2003 it was just a restaurant called Vivaldi's. They envisaged a performing venue so changed the name to reflect this and in May 2004 built a stage. Through veteran publicist Coralie Wood, to whom they'd been introduced by Stephens, they began to make contact with local and interstate performers. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.

"Coralie's kept us going," he says.

Wood, for her part, treasures the friendship built up over the years with Santos and Hill and remembers all the artists, including ones who visited, such as Judy Garland's daughter Lorna Luft, for a media call.

Many local, national and international artists have performed at Teatro Vivaldi. Dennis Olsen and Amanda Muggleton opened the venue with a Noel Coward show, and others have included the late rock star and actor Jon English, New York cabaret artist Steve Ross, flautist Jane Rutter, comedian and singer Bob Downe, and musical theatre performers Michael Cormick, Caroline O'Connor and Rhonda Burchmore.

Burchmore says the closure of Teatro Vivaldi is "devastating for Canberra and everybody out there. There's really nothing else like it in terms of intimate cabaret venues."

She says "the boys" got in touch with her not too long after they took over the place and asked if she would perform there.

"I was treated like a princess," she says.

"It's a lovely place to perform ... People are so receptive."

She loves the feel of the place, too, from all the framed posters of West End and Broadway shows Santos and Hill have seen to the autographed photos of artists who have strutted their stuff on the Teatro Vivaldi stage, and the collection of masks adorning the walls.

Santos and Hill have also given plenty of opportunities to local performers, from students who studied musical theatre at ANU to local singers, actors and theatre groups. Some performed once or twice while others forged enduring relationships with the venue and its owners.

Like Shortis and Simpson, George Huitker is a local artist with a longstanding connection. He and his band Junk Sculpture have performed New Year's Eve gigs for all but the first year – 13 in all – as well as other shows including a John Lennon tribute, a Bruce Springsteen tribute, and the one he says was the most popular of all, a Queen tribute ("everybody asks about it").

Jim McMullen's big band traXion has performed there a few times over the years. He's directed productions for Canberra Philharmonic Society such as Fiddler on the Roof that have been on stage in the neighbouring theatre with dinner-and-show packages at the restaurant. Other companies such as Supa and Phoenix have also done this, some engaging in theme nights such as Supa's La Cage Aux Folles with appropriate Club La Cage decorations in the foyer and restaurant or Titanic in 2012, where the dinner menu duplicated the one the night the ship went down 100 years earlier.

Ian Croker starred as Tevye in that Philharmonic Fiddler and has also had other shows at the Arts Centre and at Teatro Vivaldi.He's helped out with mask-making, set building, decorations, and front of house.

"It's like a second home," he says.

But Teatro Vivaldi has been more than a restaurant and performance space. Troy has been one academic among many who regularly used it as a place to meet colleagues, both from the ANU and from out of town, and the venue has been the site of many functions – including birthdays and anniversaries – and Santos has done a lot of outside catering too, including an annual dinner for 180 people at the High Court of Australia and a function for 700 students.

Teatro Vivaldi has also been generous in supporting worthy causes, notably Karinya House, which provides crisis support and accommodation for pregnant women and mothers and their families. Its finance and business manager, Jo Saccasan, who works at ANU, says Santos and Hill have been very supportive, hosting a dinner every six months for all the staff and holding fundraisers that have poured $30,000 into the organisation over the years.

"We'll be very sad to see them go," she says, echoing the sentiments of many.

The final lunch at Teatro Vivaldi will be served on June 13 ending at 3pm and then it will be closed. On Saturday, June 24 at 11am at the venue, Santos will auction off the catering equipment before he and Hill depart for a long holiday. When they return, Hill will resume his teaching position but Santos is not sure yet what he will do. There was no suitable place for them in the ANU's new plans and he hasn't been able to find anywhere else. While he was disappointed by the untimely closure, he's philosophical now and appreciative of all the support.

"Vivaldi's was very successful. It did really well and built up a nice following. It's better for us to end on a high."